Arab FMs: Lebanon Has Right to Resist Israeli Aggression, Occupation

إقرأ هذا الخبر بالعربية W460

The council of Arab foreign ministers decided Sunday during a meeting in Cairo to support the Lebanese government materially and financially to help it cope with the Syrian refugee crisis.

The council also agreed to ask the member states to share the burden, stressing that the refugees' presence in Lebanon is “temporary” and that efforts would be exerted to return them to their country as soon as possible.

Meanwhile, al-Jadeed TV revealed that the council accepted to add to its statement a suggestion by Foreign Minister Jebran Bassil that mentions "the right of Lebanon and the Lebanese to liberate and recover the Shebaa Farms, the Kfarshouba Hills and the Lebanese part of the Ghajar village, and to resist any Israeli aggression or occupation through the legitimate means."

The council lauded “the national role that is being performed by the Lebanese Army in preserving stability and civil peace,” welcoming “the extraordinary assistance offered by Saudi Arabia” to the army.

Bassil had reportedly changed Lebanon's clause of the final statement of the Arab ministers' meeting amid lack of consensus among the rival Lebanese parties on the policy statement of Prime Minister Tammam Salam's cabinet.

Al-Akhbar newspaper quoted a source in Cairo as saying that the version sent by Bassil was totally different from that of his predecessor ex-FM Adnan Mansour, who according to An Nahar has held onto the “army-people-resistance” equation.

The controversy on the word “resistance” is already delaying the approval of the policy statement. A seven-member committee tasked with drafting the blueprint is scheduled to hold its tenth meeting on Tuesday amid hopes that it would reach a compromise.

President Michel Suleiman and the March 14 camp are upholding the Baabda Declaration. But the Hizbullah-led March 8 alliance is insisting on including in the blueprint Lebanon’s right to armed resistance against Israeli occupation.

The meeting of the Arab foreign ministers in Cairo was aimed at preparing for the Kuwait summit of March 25-26 and drafting its closing statement.

Comments 35
Missing beirutbastard00 09 March 2014, 23:54

all these years later and we still havent learned that no one side can destroy the other.

anyway, bassil is doing a good job so far. I say bring back saad, make aoun president, and lets have our first stable summer in 4yrs. we need tourists, we need investors.

Thumb Kalzyturks 10 March 2014, 00:21

Agreed,++

Missing cedars 10 March 2014, 00:46

There is one evil destroyer who already have a nuclear weapon and that is Israel, we all know that fact. Instead of outsmarting the devil and sign a peace treaty to return our lands, we get a group with rockets similar to the Palestinians with rocks to stone this devil? get real and the only way to get a strong state to obtain properly effective weapons from the west is the way I mentioned above, otherwise stick to the rocks/rockets meanwhile they are destroying the entire country from the air.

Thumb .mowaten. 10 March 2014, 12:43

you're not going to outsmart them if you start off by being gullible and blind. israel will not settle for any peace deal where they do not get everything they want and more. as long as they are stronger and have more to gain potentially through strength, they will favor the confrontation. we've seen that everywhere, in Palestine, Lebanon, and even Jordan and Egypt:
in Jordan they got everything they wanted, Jordan absorbed millions of Palestinians (to the point that about 70% of Jordanians are actually Palestinians, meaning they became a minority in their own country)
in Egypt, even though Egypt was stronger and israel had much to fear from it, the peace deal ended up being in favor of them, including for instance the commitment by Egypt to supply it with natural gas at reduced prices (costing Egypt 4Bn$ a year).

Thumb .mowaten. 10 March 2014, 12:43

do you think Lebanon will get them to just give up land by asking nicely? give up shebaa which is one of the most important water resource in the region? the oil and gas in the sea? their ambition of making us absorb Palestinian refugees? i'm not ready to pay such price, not because it is too high, but also because it is unjust, and that if we bend to this, they will bend us on much more.

Missing cedars 10 March 2014, 13:29

You state and set your conditions before you go into a treaty, explain to me how a small country like Lebanon was providing electricity to Syria before the 1970s, Israel needs water and peace from Lebanon, give it to them in return to our conditions. Entertain these discussions because in the end we will end up like North Korea, Iran, Syria, Venezuela against the world.
Do they control the media, of course they do but check the stats of Lebanese population versus smart educated people that we have produced, they control the world because of every damn lawyer and doctor is at least half Jew. This is how you fight them and outsmart them.

Thumb kanaanljdid 10 March 2014, 22:03

Jordan and Egypt got back all the land they claimed. And Lebanon will get 100% the land it claims for a peace deal with Israel. Lebanon will enjoy tourists from Israel coming to Lebanon, more stability to develop and the gas fields will be demarcated. A real patriot in Lebanon wants to end this useless war against Israel. Only traitors want to use Lebanon as a battlefield for Khomeinist schemes.

Thumb .mowaten. 11 March 2014, 12:41

lol kanaan is now the chief negotiator for israel. he speaks on their behalf and all :D

Missing hammouds 13 March 2014, 01:40

Kanaan. Jordan and Egypt got back all the land? At what cost? Sinai is governed by Israel through Egypt. Egypt cannot conduct troop movements without the consent of the Israeli government. Egypt was bound by the "peace treaty" to sell Israel natural gas at a fraction of the international price. Is this peace or submission?

Missing cedars 10 March 2014, 00:49

Syria will automatically cut its relations with Lebanon if the latter is secure and stable as their intentions are to control the small neighboring country.

Default-user-icon Omar (Guest) 10 March 2014, 02:42

Cedars, you mean like egypt who cant even enter sinai without israeli permission? Or like jordan which has no sovereignity at all. Get real.

Default-user-icon pekah (Guest) 10 March 2014, 02:00

why Arabs always blame ISRAEL for their problems, the truth is you must stop Hezbollah from firing rocket into Israel first and again don't allow anyone to use your territory as a launching pad against Israel. then secure a peace deal with your neighbour, if the government. of Lebanon will do this all their problem with Israel will automatically stop.

Thumb .mowaten. 10 March 2014, 12:45

shut up israeli goon, israel IS the source of all our problems, and all the effort they put in trying to divert our attention and create problems between us to try to make us forget that, is one more problem that we owe them.

Missing greatpierro 10 March 2014, 23:12

the source of our problem is incapacity of some in making peace with israel.

Missing greatpierro 10 March 2014, 23:13

the source of our problem: the assad regime that has massacred 100 times more lebanese and palestinians than israel would ever do

Missing greatpierro 10 March 2014, 23:13

the source of our problem: Iran islamic revolution spreading the wilayet el fakir in lebanon, syria and iraq

Missing ArabDemocrat.com 17 March 2014, 19:49

Israel is a source of some of our problems and not all and indeed not even the majority. Iran is a bigger threat. Arab incompetence is perhaps the biggest threat.

Default-user-icon pekah (Guest) 10 March 2014, 02:06

there's nothing like Israel enemy, the true enem
y of Lebanon is those who parade themselves as resistance.

Thumb scorpyonn 10 March 2014, 08:35

What about Iranian aggression through the Shiite militias?

Thumb FlameCatcher 10 March 2014, 12:11

Lebanon has the right to resist any aggression !

Hezbollah however does not represent Lebanon and has no right to decide which aggressions to resist and which not ! On it's own terms... under orders of Iran !

As such, Hezbollah, a "Shiite Islamic Resistance" should be dismantled or turned into HezbLebnan, a Lebanese resistance composed of lebanese citizens of all sects !

Missing ArabDemocrat.com 17 March 2014, 19:50

Lebanon need to re-instate the draft and have a reserve civilian force like they have in Switzerland and Israel.

Thumb .mowaten. 10 March 2014, 12:24

israelis hate the resistance so much they pay goons to spread propaganda all day against it :)
shows how efficient it is, and how much they fear it :)

Thumb Abubakr 10 March 2014, 12:44

The trap in this new equation is "shebaa farms" and "ghajar".. SHebaa farms is considered Syrian and no proff of it being lebanese. And ghajar residents are alawiyes who identify themselves as Syrian..

Thumb .mowaten. 10 March 2014, 16:57

not true.

http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/un-tells-israel-place-shaba-farms-in-hands-of-unifil-1.225283

Government officials in Jerusalem said the UN cartographer handling the matter in recent months has determined that the area is indeed Lebanese. The officials added that Syria and Lebanon also agree that the area is Lebanese. Therefore, the UN has said there is no reason for Israel not to relinquish control over the area.

Thumb kanaanljdid 10 March 2014, 21:57

But most Ghajjar residents don't want to pass under Lebanese sovereignty... Anyway Lebanon and Israel has to sit down and settle all these matters in a peaceful and civilised way. The most efficient way for Lebanon, as Egypt and Jordan got back all what they wanted that way.

Thumb .mowaten. 11 March 2014, 12:32

dont speak on their behalf, and in any case, that's not how it works. if they want to move to israel let them move to the other side of the border. lebanese land is lebanese.

Missing ArabDemocrat.com 17 March 2014, 19:52

Mowaten - Do you know why Ghajar resident do not want to be Lebanese? Because we have failed and there is no prospect of building a modern state with opportunities. The biggest reason is the Hezb. In a state, you can have only one army and one authority.

Thumb Abubakr 10 March 2014, 12:49

Bassil's equation delegitimizes all hezbolla activities.

Thumb -phoenix1 10 March 2014, 15:05

We as Lebanese have the right to recover any territory that is ours, from any form of occupation. But as some worthy people here have mentioned, in the case of Shebaa and Ghajjar, the best route now is to take the diplomatic one under the auspices of the UN. A whole country and everything in it cannot and must not be sacrificed because of two tiny dots, the UN is here and fully willing to support our plight to recover them, if first the Syrians let go off Shebaa in writing, and two, if the residents of Ghajjar vote to live under Lebanese jurisdiction. Then form now on, we want no on to claim to do any kind of resistance on our behalf, we just want the State of Lebanon enjoying its full sovereignty and constitutionality, wou bass.

Missing peace 10 March 2014, 15:44

hezbollah is NOT a lebanese resistance as it chooses who to resist and who not to resist! they even welcome "brotherly" fires from foreign countries...
they decide instead of the state of peace and war thus works for its own interests and not those of the lebanese people....

Thumb thepatriot 10 March 2014, 15:52

In this Wikipedia link below, you will find a list of territorial claims and disputes between nations... there are over 300... and we are at the mercy of Israel and Hezbollah because of the chebaa farms... what a joke... we know very well that it is a a pathetic excuse for Hezbollah to keep its power, political agenda, means, influence, and project...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_territorial_disputes

Thumb bashir 10 March 2014, 16:04

someone please teach He Who Lives Underground the difference between "Resist Israeli Aggression, Occupation" and "Instigate Israeli Aggression, Occupation"

thank you.

Thumb bashir 11 March 2014, 17:59

There is a difference between legitimately created and operating legitimately. HA has brought far more trouble than it has prevented re: Israel in the past decade.

Thumb chad 16 March 2014, 22:11

Bashir - you can convince yourself of all those funny tales if it makes you happier, but it's not going to change anything about the reality:
HA is a lebanese resistance, serving lebanese in lebanon.
They are beloved and supported by the majority of the country and they are here to stay.
Now continue dreaming if you wish.

Default-user-icon xlf (Guest) 18 March 2014, 19:46

Hello